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' 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. J.'GRADY. I COMBINED WHEEL AND RA IL BRAKE FOR CARS.

No. 486,037. Patented llgv. 8, 1892.

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J. GRADY. COMBINED WHEEL AND RAIL BRAKE FOR CARS.

No. 486,037. l Patented Nov. 8, 1892.

wuewbom 114: noams rflziiw. Pnomuma, wnsnmafon u c UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

JAMES GRADY, OF BROOKLYN, NEWV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN W.FOWLER, OF SAME PLACE.

.. COMBINED WHEEL AND RAIL BRAKE FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 486,037, dat d Nov m r8, 1892- Application filed November 12, 1891- Serial No. 411.694. (N0model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES GRADY, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in a Combined Wheel and RailOar-Brake, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates, primarily, to brakes for street-cars, and tothose car-brakes in which suitable brake-shoes are first brought intocontact with the wheels and then, if need be, into contact with therails, so as to increase the friction on the rails, and thus to save thewheels and to stop the car more quickly.

The present invention consists in several new combinations of parts,some of the parts being also of novel construction.

The objects of the respective combinations are, first, to support theshoes normally by means of spiral springs in such a way that thebrake-shoes shall be free to move both toward and away from the wheelsand toward and away from the rails, and so as to get the most directpull on said springs for depressing the shoes into contact with therails; secondly, to transmit motion to the several brake-shoes in themost effective manner in applying the brake, and, thirdly, toautomatically restore the parts to their normal positions by simple andeifective means.

Three sheets of drawings accompany this specification as part thereof.

Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, on Sheet 1, are small-scale top andside views of the running-gear of a street-car, illustrating thisinvention. Figs. 3 and 4, Sheet 2, represent vertical sections on theline 3 4, Fig. 1, with the brake off and on in the respective figures;and Figs. 5 to 16, inclusive, Sheet 3, represent the details ofconstruction and certain proposed modifications, Figs. 5, 6, and 7 beingtop and side views of one of the brake-pedestals; Fig. 8, top and edgeviews of a follower combined with each pedestal; Fig. 9, side and endviews of one of the brake-applying cams; Fig. 10, side andedge views ofone of the lever-arrns through the medium of which said cams are turnedin applying the brake; Fig. 11, top and side views of a flexibleconnection between each of said crank-arms and the long lever throughwhich motion is transmitted thereto; Figs. 12, 13, and 14, respectively,top, side, and back views of one of the brakeshoes; Fig. 15, afragmentary sectional View illustrating a modification; and Fig. 16,another back view of a brake-shoe, illustrating a modification. Figs. 3'to 14, inclusive, are enlarged one diameter from Figs. 1 and 2.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

In line with each car-wheel a and adjacent to its periphery in front orbehind a brakepedestal b of the construction clearly represented byFigs. 5 to 7 projects downward to a point about midway between the planeof the axles a and that of the track. Within the pedestal a strongspiral spring 0 is supported vertically, its lower end being keptinplace by a stud 22 Fig. 6, on the floor of the pedestal, and a followerd, having a like stud d Fig. 8, on its bottom rests upon the spring andis guided by lugs d Fig. 8, on each end of the follower, coacting withways b Figs. 5 to 7, on the pedestal. Immediately beneath said door ofthe pedestal a cam e is arranged with its convex face toward the wheel,being carried by one end of a rock-shaft 6*, for which a strong bearingb Figs. 5 to 7, is formed on the lower end of the pedestal at that sidewhich is toward the center of the car. The outer end of the cam e isprovided with a transverse eyebolt e Fig. 9, from which aretracting-spring f, Figs. 1 to 4, is stretched upward to an eyebolt g,which in the example passes through the floor h of the car and through awooden clamp-bar i on top, taking hold of three floor-planks, and isprovided with screw-nuts g both above and below, so as to provide foradjusting said spring f.

A brake-shoe j of the peculiar construction represented by Figs. 12 tol4is interposed be tween said cam e and the adjacent edge of the wheela, this shoe having a concave face j, Figs. 12 and 13, fitted to theperiphery of the wheel and concentric therewith, and a downwardprojection 7' fitted to the tread, or it may be to the tread and groove,of the rail 2 and parallel with the track whenthe shoe is depressed, asin Fig. 4. Such projection is located toward the heel of the shoe andaway from the tread of the wheel, so that when the shoe is depressed asabove, with said concave facej in contact with the periphery of thewheel, the shoe will not become wedged under the wheel. An incline 7'Figs. 12 to 14, on the back of the shoe is in contact with said convexface of the cam e, andits angle determines the efiect of their coaction.With very little incline, as represented, thegreatest press--hanger-bolt, the ends of which are connected by hangers it withtrunnions d Fig. 8, on the laterally-projecting ends of the follower d.The hangers have eyes at both ends, and split cotters in each of saidtrunnionsand in one end of said hangerebolt keep the hangers fromworking off. The pair of shoes for the wheels on one axle are rigidlyconnected by a Hatbarf, the ends of which are bolted or riveted toinwardly-projecting hornsj", Figs. 12 to 14, on the respective shoes.The said rock shaft e is likewise common to such a pair of cams e. Thepedestals b and shoes 3' are molded right and left for their respectivepositions. The other parts above named may be of one pattern for all theWheels.

in the arrangement represented by the drawings the mechanism abovedescribed is arranged between the wheels and the platforms at both endsof a street-car and all the brake-shoes are applied simultaneously. Forso applying the brake-shoes in this arrange ment through the medium ofsaid rock-shafts e and cams e pivot-supporting brackets Z are bolted tothe bottom of the car-frame at both ends, and long levers m, extendingtransversely in a horizontal plane below that of the axles a are pivotedat mid-length to said brackets and are connected at both sides of thecar by rods 'n with each other and at both ends by suitable connections0 with the customary brake-spindles, and, finally, by flexible shacklesp with lever-arms g, keyed fast to said rock-shafts e One of saidshackles p is represented in detail by Fig. 11, as aforesaid. Itconsists of a long clip 19' to connect with the adjoining long lever m,a longer clip 10 to connect with the adjoining lever-arm q, and a chain19 connecting said clips. One of said lever-arms q is likewiserepresented in detail by Fig. 10, where it is seen that it has a seriesof holes g to receive the pivot-bolt, which attaches the adjoining clip19 thereto. By using one or another of said holes (1 the cams e areadjusted so as to support the shoes j normally as close as practicableto the wheels when the brake is off. The shoe-faces j should not be morethan one-sixteenth of an inch out of contact for the best effect. Assoon as either brake-spindle is turned the connection 0 at that end ofthe car is shortened, and theconnected leversm turn on their pivots andthrough the shackles p pull on the leverarins q, which, being fast onthe rock-shafts e that carry the cams e, as aforesa1d,1mmediatelytransmit the motion through the latter to the brake-shoesj. .These arepressed first against the car-wheels a to stop their revolution and thenupon the rails z to prevent or reduce any slipping of the stopped wheelson the track. At one end of the car the motion of the wheels obviouslytends to carry the brake-shoes into contact with the rails. At the otherend the shoes turn the stopped wheels backward or slip on them, owing tothe powerful pressure exerted by the cams e and the favorableinclination of the periphery of the wheel at that point where the shoecoacts therewith. Struts r, coupled to lugs b Figs. (3 andi, on thepedestals b, resist the back-pressure due to the action of the cams. henthe brake is released, the cams e, rock-shafts e lever-arms q, shacklesp, levers m, and connections at are immediately restored to theirpositions of rest by the retracting-springs f, and the shoes aresimultaneously re-elevated by the main brakesprings 0 through thefollowers 61 and hangers 70. Instead of cams e coacting with inclines onthe backs of the brake-shoes j, the rock-shafts c may carry crank-armss, Fig. 15, coupled by links t to the brake-shoes, as in the figure lastreferred to.

The rail-brake projections 7' instead of being cast on the body of thebrake-shoe, as represented in Figs. 1 to 15, may be formed separately ofsuitable metal and attached in any approved way, as represented in Fig.1G, or they may be reinforced by a piece ofwroughtiron cast fast in theshoe, as represented at 9 in Figs. Band 14.

Instead of being applied outside at the ends of the car, as above, thebrake mechanism may be between the wheels and, as thus arranged, asingle lever 'm, hung under the center of the car, as brake-levers areusually hung on horse-cars, may take the place of the two levers m andtheir connections n, or the brake can be operated by an upright lever oneach side of the car instead of by horizontal levers. In the preferredarrangement represented by the drawings, Figs. 1 to 4, the brake can beoperated from either end of the car in case any of the connectionsshould break, or by simply omitting the connecting-rods n the brake maybe operated from either end on one pair of wheels and the track.

Onelectric cars or other cars that have trucks the pedestals b may befastened to the truck, so as not to be affected by the rise and fall ofthe car-body. Flat brake-springs of suitable length may press againstthe bars 3 to keep the brake-shoes in contact with the cams 6 when theyare 0E the wheels, but have not been found to be necessary.

Other or like modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled inthe art.

Having thus described the said improvement, I claim as my invention anddesire to patent under this specification-- 1. In combination withbrake-shoes having concave faces to engage with the wheels andprojections at bottom to engage with the rails, brake-pedestalsprojecting downward behind said shoes, vertical spiral springs inclosedWithin said pedestals, followers above said springs, and hangersconnecting said followers with the brake-shoes, substantially ashereinbefore specified.

2. In combination with spring-supported brake-shoes having concave facesto coact with the pair of wheels on one axle and pro jections at bottomto coact with the rails and constructed with inclines at back, ahorizontal rock-shaft parallel with the axle and in a lower plane, meansfor turning said rockshaft, and cams carried by said rock-shaft andcoacting with said inclines, substantially as hereinbefore specified.

3. In combination with brake-shoes having concave faces to coact withthe wheels of a car and projections at bottom to coact with the railsand constructed with inclines at back and means for pressing such shoesfirst against the wheels and then against both wheels and rails,comprising cams which coact with said inclines, vertically-arrangedspiral springs, followers above said springs, hangers connecting saidbrake-shoes and followers, and separate and distinct retracting-springsconnected with said cams, respectively, substantially as hereinbeforespecified.

JAMES GRADY.

Witnesses:

A. H. DOLLANT, J. T. PRESTON, Jr.

